Europe needs clear and consistent telecoms regulation to encourage private sector investment in high speed broadband networks, European Commissioner Neelie Kroes says.
The vice president of the EC’s digital agenda says the region is falling behind global broadband deployments and that private investment is needed to get the market back on track. However, Kroes notes such cash injections will only happen if there is a stable regulatory environment – something she claims the current system doesn’t offer.
“Today’s guidance to regulators just doesn’t give businesses – old or new – the certainty they need to make investments,” Kroes says, adding. “It’s time to change.”
Kroes proposes amending the current EU regulatory framework to give clearer instructions to national regulators on how to deal with specific problems, to ensure consistency in their decisions.
“We are determined to deliver stable copper prices and fiber regulation that reflects market reality,” Kroes says, noting that forthcoming legislation will formalize “a tighter set of the principles for encouraging investment,” first proposed in July 2012.